Aviation industry needs a reality check - Baker

“Why should everyone else suffer just so aviation can stay the same?" said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary.

Commenting on the warning from the Climate Change Committee that the UK will have to cut emissions by 90% by 2050 so that the aviation industry can continue to grow, Norman Baker said:

“This is a vindication of what the Liberal Democrats have been saying for a long time. The expansion of Heathrow and other airports in the South East is incompatible with attempts to cut carbon emissions.

“Why should everyone else suffer just so aviation can stay the same? It’s time the airline industry took a reality check.”

Councils paying out nearly £1m each in compensation for pavement trips - Baker

County councils and unitary authorities have paid out an average of nearly £1m each in compensation to people who have tripped on pavements in the last five years, the Liberal Democrats have revealed. Freedom of Information responses from more than 90 councils show they have paid out more than £82m. This number is likely to grow as there are currently more than 10,000 cases outstanding.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Baker said:

“With council and household budgets under more pressure than ever, the last thing the local taxpayer needs is to be paying massive compensation claims for injuries caused by dangerous pavements.

“This is money that could have been spent on improving pavements and preventing these problems in the first place.

“Although some councils are investing heavily to improve their footways, others seem content to almost ignore pedestrians entirely. Too many councils seem interested only in motorists and not those who walk, cycle or take the bus.

“It appears that some councils seem to be making the cynical calculation that they can afford to pay out compensation rather than invest in improving pavements. This could prove to be a costly mistake if pavements are allowed to deteriorate too far.”

1,000 miles of rail routes are due to be replaced by buses this Bank Holiday

More than 1,000 miles of rail routes will be replaced by buses over the August Bank Holiday weekend (28th-31st), analysis by the Liberal Democrats has found. A table showing how many miles of routes are to be replaced by buses, broken down by train operator is attached.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Baker said:

“Spending hours in a hot bus is not the way most of us want to spend our Bank Holiday but with miles of rail replacement buses planned yet again, it’s going to be hard to avoid.

“Passengers who have paid for a rail journey have the right to expect to travel by train.

“Train companies that force passengers to travel part of the journey by bus should give them a substantial rebate on the cost of their ticket.”

The Liberal Democrats: Consistently Inconsistent About The Environment

"The Lib Dems know much more about pursuing the Green vote than about pursuing Green policies" says Green Party London Assembly Member Jenny Jones in a comment piece on the Guardian website today.

"The result of which is that Lib Dem policy pronouncements are marred y inconsistencies and they have a tendency to say one thing at national level and do something else at local level."

"For example, Norman Baker Lib Dem Transport Spokesman has been saying a Lib Dem government would stop spending on road building; but his colleagues in Lancashire are still supporting the Lancaster Northern bypass."

"The Lib Dems have spoken in favour of congestion charging nationally, but against it in Edinburgh, Manchester and York."

"They want a zero carbon economy by 2050 - in principle. But they have opposed windfarm proposals in Cornwall, Cumbria, Devon and Worcestershire."

"The Lib Dems have opposed the expansion of Heathrow, but have been happy to expand Birmingham, Carlisle, Exeter, Liverpool and Norwich airports. They were wildly enthusiastic about Manchester airport's second runway - except for the LibDems in Stockport, which lies under the flightpath."

"The Lib Dems know much more about pursuing the Green vote than about pursuing Green policies. In the "green tax switch" they announced last September, the LibDems promised to "cut income tax and switch to green taxes on pollution instead." No serious Greens would contemplate this."

Baker: Passengers mustn’t be hoodwinked by Network Rail figures

Tue, 26 May 2009

Reaction to the Network Rail’s announcement that 90% of trains were ‘punctual’ in the last year, Norman Baker warned passengers not to be hoodwinked.

Reaction to the Network Rail's announcement that 90% of trains were ‘punctual' in the last year, Norman Baker warned passengers not to be hoodwinked.

"Any improvement in punctuality is to be welcomed but passengers mustn't be hoodwinked by these results."

Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary "The industry considers that anything up to five minutes late, and in some cases even 10 minutes, is still on time. Many passengers will have a different view."

Figures released to the Liberal Democrats earlier this year by the Association of Train Operating Companies showed that between January 2008 and January 2009:

• More than 21,000 trains were more than half an hour late
• Almost 3,000 trains were more than one hour late
• 144,000 trains were either completely or partially cancelled
• In total trains were delayed for almost 100,000 hours

Norman concluded, "It's not good enough to simply record that half a million trains were within five minutes of their schedule. On time should mean on time."